***1st Week of December Thread ADR Plans, Park Hours, and dealing with Pop Warner***

[Lisa F]

There's only one or two shows at night. In December it's usually around 7 or 7:30? There is also an8:30showing some days last year but I don't see that in the schedule yet this year. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

one show listed in december (in the quieter weeks, i bet it is 2 for christmas)
actually only 1 on the holidays too but they could add more and expand hours. I would not expect more than one when we are going.

I guess if they are doing fireworks right at the same time you can't see them after, huh?

also added, it looks like in june they are not every night. Sunday, Wednesday and Friday (and some saturdays). I could go back one of those nights for fireworks, preferably sunday.

 

[tacboze]

Has anyone ever done Minnie's seasonal dining during Christmastime? I have a non-package reservation for that, but I don't know much about it. Just grabbed it bc I'm desperately trying to get a Mickey & pals meal for my twins! Plus, I thought them being in their Cmas attire would be fun. But we'll be eating bfast there w/ Disney Jr. Characters....will it be redundant by eating there twice?

 

[Lisa F]

Has anyone ever done Minnie's seasonal dining during Christmastime? I have a non-package reservation for that, but I don't know much about it. Just grabbed it bc I'm desperately trying to get a Mickey & pals meal for my twins! Plus, I thought them being in their Cmas attire would be fun. But we'll be eating bfast there w/ Disney Jr. Characters....will it be redundant by eating there twice?

it's not redundant in that the menu is different and the characters are different, but it is not considered the best buffet out there so I'm not sure if I'd be looking to do it twice. Though the reviews are generally from bad to mixed, the christmas season menu gets the best reviews of any of the dinners.

Mickey & friends are also at:
Chef Mickey (mickey, chip, dale, goofy) - gets mediocre reviews for food
Tusker House (donald, daisy goofy mickey) - gets good reviews for food
Cape May Buffet (minnie, goofy, donald) - gets good reviews for food, breakfast only - no mickey though
Garden Grill (chip, dale, mickey, pluto) - family style, gets good reviews for simple food
Ohana (lilo, stitch, mickey, pluto) - family style, breakfast only, gets decent reviews but some people don't like how basic the choices are

so I guess H&V is the only one with the whole fab 5 AND apparently Santa Goofy (who is at H&V seasonal dine) is a very hot ticket at the MVMCP.

 

[Candycane83]

Has anyone ever done Minnie's seasonal dining during Christmastime? I have a non-package reservation for that, but I don't know much about it. Just grabbed it bc I'm desperately trying to get a Mickey & pals meal for my twins! Plus, I thought them being in their Cmas attire would be fun. But we'll be eating bfast there w/ Disney Jr. Characters....will it be redundant by eating there twice?

I was debating the same thing for my DS2. I decided just to do the dinner because we can meet the Disney Junior characters by the Disney Junior show I believe? It's harder to see the characters in an Xmas outfit.

 

[Lisa F]

I was debating the same thing for my DS2. I decided just to do the dinner because we can meet the Disney Junior characters by the Disney Junior show I believe? It's harder to see the characters in an Xmas outfit.

I would rather do mama melrose but the kiddo requested h&v so there we are. I suspect even if the food is mediocre I won't go away hungry and the characters in christmas gear are super cute (I will have to get my kiddo a christmas disney tshirt lol, maybe a hat too! BTW pro tip from his trip last february with his father - I waited for one of the 25% off friends and family sales at the disney store online and ordered him a few souvenirs in advance - he wore his tshirt and hat the whole trip and then had them to bring back and I saved a little money - I also ordered him his BB8 magic band at the time to save for our trip).

 

[Iowamomof4]

it's not redundant in that the menu is different and the characters are different, but it is not considered the best buffet out there so I'm not sure if I'd be looking to do it twice. Though the reviews are generally from bad to mixed, the christmas season menu gets the best reviews of any of the dinners.

Mickey & friends are also at:
Chef Mickey (mickey, chip, dale, goofy) - gets mediocre reviews for food
Tusker House (donald, daisy goofy mickey) - gets good reviews for food
Cape May Buffet (minnie, goofy, donald) - gets good reviews for food, breakfast only - no mickey though
Garden Grill (chip, dale, mickey, pluto) - family style, gets good reviews for simple food
Ohana (lilo, stitch, mickey, pluto) - family style, breakfast only, gets decent reviews but some people don't like how basic the choices are

so I guess H&V is the only one with the whole fab 5 AND apparently Santa Goofy (who is at H&V seasonal dine) is a very hot ticket at the MVMCP.

Chef Mickey has the Fab 5.

 

[Candycane83]

I would rather do mama melrose but the kiddo requested h&v so there we are. I suspect even if the food is mediocre I won't go away hungry and the characters in christmas gear are super cute (I will have to get my kiddo a christmas disney tshirt lol, maybe a hat too! BTW pro tip from his trip last february with his father - I waited for one of the 25% off friends and family sales at the disney store online and ordered him a few souvenirs in advance - he wore his tshirt and hat the whole trip and then had them to bring back and I saved a little money - I also ordered him his BB8 magic band at the time to save for our trip).

Yes I have started collecting items we will be able to use by the time our trip comes (been buying stuff online since Xmas! Lol) hopefully they would fit him at that time...

I was initially thinking Mama Melrose but I've crossed it off (at least for this trip) I feel H&V is more unique to Disney? Just me of course. I even am considering 50s because of the atmosphere. I don't think we ate anywhere in DHS last trip... We would hop to Epcot for meals especially since it was just me and DH. On a separate note, I now regret not going for party for the senses when I had a chance that trip!

 

[Lisa F]

Yes I have started collecting items we will be able to use by the time our trip comes (been buying stuff online since Xmas! Lol) hopefully they would fit him at that time...

I was initially thinking Mama Melrose but I've crossed it off (at least for this trip) I feel H&V is more unique to Disney? Just me of course. I even am considering 50s because of the atmosphere. I don't think we ate anywhere in DHS last trip... We would hop to Epcot for meals especially since it was just me and DH. On a separate note, I now regret not going for party for the senses when I had a chance that trip!

I have been to MM before but not in years and years and years so kind of nostalgic for it. That said none of the kid menu items is super appealing to my kiddo and I just think he will eat much better at the buffet... not that I worry about him starving with all of those snack credits forthcoming but I like it when his main dish is some kind of lean protein and not mac and cheese by itself and on buffets we can do carved protein and then the mac and cheese on the side. He would get pasta and butter and MAYBE eat the meatballs depending on whether i can get them unsauced at MM. That's a lot to pay for $0.25 worth of pasta. I will let him have the mac and cheese if he wants sometimes though.

One nice thing about Sanaa is that they have a kid's SIDE of mac and cheese for $3. He won't eat rice or couscous or any of that stuff but will eat the grilled chicken breast. At Y&Y they have teriyaki chicken breast which he will love but the only sides he'd eat off that list is gogurt and gogurt but he does really want to try the pulled pork cheese fries at flame tree so we'll have to fit that in somehow and I don't mind him having fewer carbs at dinner if we're going to have that. Narcoossees has grilled chicken and steak (he loves both) with what sounds like tater tots. CA Grill he had pizza last time and they have mac and cheese and also grilled filet mignon that maybe i can get with a side of plain pasta. I will see, that is the most iffy on menu but it was also one of the few he requested believe it or not! Coral reef he will probably eat the mac and cheese... they make it house made there (one of the chefs who made it posted on the disboards a while back!). Sci Fi is all junk food so I don't much care what he gets there... I mean, it's vacation. I won't make him order mickey check unless he wants to we'll be having milk shakes with it so why not go all to hell? lol.

Definitely what my child will eat weighed heavily into my choices and I am very glad that he has recently (this spring) gotten into grilled meats so that helps a lot with what he will eat. when I was starting to figure it out a few months ago I was planning to do a lot more dinner buffets so he can be well fed, but I wasn't doing DxDDP just regular so doing character dinner buffets. I like the mix of character breakfasts with mostly menu service dinners. it is a nice mix.

 

[Lisa F]

Chef Mickey has the Fab 5.

i thought so! then I checked allears and it said those 4. I have never been there but every time we walked by or rode over it on the monorail it looked like my own personal version of hell on earth, lol.

 

[Iowamomof4]

i thought so! then I checked allears and it said those 4. I have never been there but every time we walked by or rode over it on the monorail it looked like my own personal version of hell on earth, lol.

Yep. I have no desire whatsoever to eat there... ever.

 

[tacboze]

i thought so! then I checked allears and it said those 4. I have never been there but every time we walked by or rode over it on the monorail it looked like my own personal version of hell on earth, lol.

Hahahaha!

 

[Candycane83]

I have been to MM before but not in years and years and years so kind of nostalgic for it. That said none of the kid menu items is super appealing to my kiddo and I just think he will eat much better at the buffet... not that I worry about him starving with all of those snack credits forthcoming but I like it when his main dish is some kind of lean protein and not mac and cheese by itself and on buffets we can do carved protein and then the mac and cheese on the side. He would get pasta and butter and MAYBE eat the meatballs depending on whether i can get them unsauced at MM. That's a lot to pay for $0.25 worth of pasta. I will let him have the mac and cheese if he wants sometimes though.

One nice thing about Sanaa is that they have a kid's SIDE of mac and cheese for $3. He won't eat rice or couscous or any of that stuff but will eat the grilled chicken breast. At Y&Y they have teriyaki chicken breast which he will love but the only sides he'd eat off that list is gogurt and gogurt but he does really want to try the pulled pork cheese fries at flame tree so we'll have to fit that in somehow and I don't mind him having fewer carbs at dinner if we're going to have that. Narcoossees has grilled chicken and steak (he loves both) with what sounds like tater tots. CA Grill he had pizza last time and they have mac and cheese and also grilled filet mignon that maybe i can get with a side of plain pasta. I will see, that is the most iffy on menu but it was also one of the few he requested believe it or not! Coral reef he will probably eat the mac and cheese... they make it house made there (one of the chefs who made it posted on the disboards a while back!). Sci Fi is all junk food so I don't much care what he gets there... I mean, it's vacation. I won't make him order mickey check unless he wants to we'll be having milk shakes with it so why not go all to hell? lol.

Definitely what my child will eat weighed heavily into my choices and I am very glad that he has recently (this spring) gotten into grilled meats so that helps a lot with what he will eat. when I was starting to figure it out a few months ago I was planning to do a lot more dinner buffets so he can be well fed, but I wasn't doing DxDDP just regular so doing character dinner buffets. I like the mix of character breakfasts with mostly menu service dinners. it is a nice mix.

Wow that's great that you have gotten a good idea of what your son would eat in each of these restaurants. It's good that each restaurant you picked has a few choices for him. I think that all of us parents are worried about this mostly when we pick places to eat in. For me, I worry about my son... I have considered what he would eat but he is in such limbo right now (stuff he will eat today he will not eat tomorrow). I just hope we find something for him to eat. If not I will most likely look into getting pediasure sidekicks for him! He does try things but does not eat enough of it sometimes. This weekend he ate some BBQ eel with rice at a Japanese restaurant but not enough of it. We gave him a little ice cream and milk when we got home... My basic plan when we go for a trip! For the next few months, I will see more of what he eats and make sure I have back up!

 

[Candycane83]

i thought so! then I checked allears and it said those 4. I have never been there but every time we walked by or rode over it on the monorail it looked like my own personal version of hell on earth, lol.

Lol! I will be trying you hell on earth (at least the plan for now) and will let you know how it is!

 

[Lisa F]

Yep. I have no desire whatsoever to eat there... ever.

I am doing I forget if it's 6 or 7 character meals and that isn't one of them, lol.

 

[Candycane83]

I am doing I forget if it's 6 or 7 character meals and that isn't one of them, lol.

Lol I think we have the same list except instead of Ohana, I have Chef Mickeys.

 

[tacboze]

I am doing I forget if it's 6 or 7 character meals and that isn't one of them, lol.

I've never eaten at chef mickeys...what about it makes you want to avoid it? (Just learning here....never been there or eaten there.).

 

[Candycane83]

I've never eaten at chef mickeys...what about it makes you want to avoid it? (Just learning here....never been there or eaten there.).

I think it's basically the chaos and less than stellar food everyone wants to avoid. Looks crazy from what I can see but I'm hoping at 7am that it's not as bad

 

[Iowamomof4]

I've never eaten at chef mickeys...what about it makes you want to avoid it? (Just learning here....never been there or eaten there.).

I don't want to because of the negative reviews of the food quality. Breakfast seems like the best option but I don't want to give up prime MK touring time for a breakfast outside the park so I guess I just find no compelling reason to go there. We aren't into character meals at all though. If I wanted the prime characters, I'd hit Tusker House breakfast, Cape May Cafe breakfast, or possibly Hollywood & Vine dinner before I'd go to Chef Mickey's. That's just me though. It's one of the toughest reservations to get, so there are definitely plenty of people who disagree with me.

 

[Lisa F]

I've never eaten at chef mickeys...what about it makes you want to avoid it? (Just learning here....never been there or eaten there.).

I used to go to disney a lot when I was married and before kids. My son is on the spectrum and he has some sensory issues but I'm kind of sensitive to stuff too and the combo of the open restaurant, monorails going overhead, yelling and screaming (do they still do the napkin waving thing?) has always given me the twitches. And yes the food does not get good reviews, but some people do like it. I don't even know if it is still as loud as I remember, but just walking past it used to give me the twitches before I had kids. tooooo much of a good thing I guess, lol.

I am doing Tusker House, Cape May Cafe, Ohana, Garden Grill, H&V, CP. If there were more family style I'd be doing them. All breakfast except for H&V which is the seasonal dine. Thought about adding CM's also but couldn't do it, lol (doing Boma that day for breakfast instead - it is the morning of H&V so I didn't feel the need to do that set of characters twice in one day). My kid loves characters but hates to wait in those lines (They are very slow moving and longer than we usually will wait) so this should scratch his character itch We're going all out with the deluxe plan, so why not? He is 8, so not much longer that he will 1) be into the characters and 2) be affordable to take to the meals.

 

[Lisa F]

I don't want to because of the negative reviews of the food quality. Breakfast seems like the best option but I don't want to give up prime MK touring time for a breakfast outside the park so I guess I just find no compelling reason to go there. We aren't into character meals at all though. If I wanted the prime characters, I'd hit Tusker House breakfast, Cape May Cafe breakfast, or possibly Hollywood & Vine dinner before I'd go to Chef Mickey's. That's just me though. It's one of the toughest reservations to get, so there are definitely plenty of people who disagree with me.

yeah see my list, lol. the food and overall experience seems a lot better at those places.

the H&V christmas seasonal dine does not look terrible actually. H&V is one of those places that before kids I would not touch with a 10 foot pole. The food has always gotten poor reviews, the disney junior characters combined with toddlers/preschoolers and the theming isn't even that great in the restaurant. But the christmas fab 5 and better looking holiday dine food made me decide to go for it, though I still have low expectations. there is a pomegranate pear arugula salad (will have to pick out the fennel, don't like fennel) that looks good and so does the pumpkin gnocchi, butternut squash soup, pretzel rolls, peel and eat shrimp... like I said, I should not go away hungry lol.